STANFORD, Calif. – Several early missed opportunities led to a 5-2 extra-inning defeat for Stanford baseball in the Pac-12 opener against Washington State on Thursday night.
Stanford (10-6, 0-1) placed a runner on third in five of the first six innings, but did not score. Meanwhile, the Cougars did not get a base runner past first base until the seventh, but capitalized with some key hits late in the game, and earned the win in 10 innings at Sunken Diamond.
Junior Brett Hanewich, who got the start for the Cardinal, did not surrender a hit until the fifth inning, and did not allow a baserunner into scoring position until the seventh. He struck out three, but the Cougars finally threatend in the seventh. The first two hitters reached and a sacrifice bunt set up a two-out, two-run single through the right side.
The Cardinal took advantage of a Cougars miscue to get on the scoreboard. With two outs and two on in the bottom of the eighth, sophomore catcher Bryce Carter lined one the opposite way. The ball was dropped by the left fielder and rolled to the wall. Both runners scored to tie the game, 2-2.
Sophomore Colton Hock, who relieved Hanewich in the seventh, pitched a scoreless ninth and improved his consecutive scoreless innings streak to 18.1 to start the season. However, he ran into trouble when the Cougars loaded the bases with one out in the tenth. All three runners eventually scored on back-to-back hits to put the Cougars ahead by the final margin.
Stanford, which was unable to pull out a win for head coach Mark Marquess on his birthday, left 13 runners on base, and was 0-for-11 with runners in scoring position. Meanwhile, Washington State (8-12, 1-3 Pac-12) was 4-for-9 (.444) in that situation.
Stanford will attempt to even this three-game set on Friday. First pitch is set for 6 p.m. at Sunken Diamond. Freshman Tristan Beck will match up with the No. 1 starter for the Cougars, right-hander Ian Hamilton.